All Posts by Simon Sage

Our first look at Dead Trigger 2 at CES was great, and since then the game has come a long way. We met up with the guys from Madfinger Games at E3 for a walkthrough of a new gas station arena level.
Of course the zombie-infested first-person shooter is well-known for its excellent graphics, and they're now including dynamic reflections and shadows in addition the the already great water and...

Nyko recently announced their first batch of NVIDIA Shield accessories, and we got a chance to play around with them at E3. First up is a soft shell with form-fitted interior for some solid baseline protection. There's a zipper all around the outside to keep it snug, and a lanyard to make sure you don't lose your grip on it. That one should be going for about $19.99.

Back at CES, NVIDIA announced a cloud gaming solution called Grid, though it was mostly overshadowed by the Shield portable console. Luckily at E3 we got some time with one of the grid engineers, Chad Cooper, to talk about what Grid can do. Specifically, they were showing how the Android-powered Ouya game console could play big-boy games like Borderlands 2 thanks to their tech.

At E3 2013, we got some time with Ninja Theory, who's been working on their first mobile title called Fightback. These guys made the latest Devil May Cry game, which is part of a well-respected console action series, so it was pretty exciting to see what they'd be able to do on Android.
Fightback is straightforward (but gorgeous) beat-em-up where players have to tap and swipe their way through...

The Moga Power Bluetooth controller was unveiled last week, and here at E3 2013 we got some time to try out their latest prototype. It isn't working just yet, but it was still a nice chance to highlight some of the major feature changes. The main addition is a full-sized USB port which allows your mobile device to sup from the Moga Power's local battery.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today announced that starting December 2, 2013, those of us up north will be able to cancel our contract after two years without penalty, that domestic data overage charges will be capped at $50/month ($100 for roaming), and that devices will be able to be unlocked after 90 days (or immediately if bought outright). The new code also...

The better part of the CrackBerry crew are at BlackBerry Live 2013 this week, and there was a bit of news for Android fans amid the general session. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.1 was announced, which includes support for Android devices. That means your IT guy can roll out apps and lock down BlackBerry devices throughout the company just as easily as it can with any Android devices.

Today at BlackBerry Live 2013, the quintessential BlackBerry Messenger was announced as coming to Android this summer! It's going to be totally free, which is a welcome surprise.
CEO Thorsten Heins announced his company's goal to make BBM the standard in cross-platform messaging and that they'll be bringing their long-standing device-exclusive service to iOS and Android. In the long run, they...

As you by no doubt have heard, there's an all-new version of the Android Central App amongst us. And now we’re going to walk through it in all its awesomeness. It's got full access to the Android Central blogs, forums, wallpaper gallery, store, podcast, and videos. Our people have worked hard on this, and there are still plenty more features on the way.
Have a question about how things work?...

Fieldrunners 2 introduces elevation to the classic tower defense formula
The sequel to one of the most widely-loved tower defense games has finally come to Android. Fieldrunners 2 expands on the cute graphics and wide strategic elements of the original with new maps, new towers, new creeps, and upgraded visuals.
The biggest change is the introduction of trenches, bridges, and tunnels....

For $99 down and $20/month, the HTC One can be yours
As promised, the HTC One went on sale at "select retail channels" at T-Mobile for $99 down and $20/month for 24 months. Those "select retail channels" probably means that stock is going to be limited, so be sure to call ahead. You can also snag one online if you'd rather get it right at your doorstep. You can get more information on...

$7.1 billion in revenue, 5 million phones shipped, $29 million in operating income
Sprint reported their first quarter financial results for 2013 today, which included $7.1 billion in revenue - that's 9% up from Q1 last year, and their new all-time high. Sprint boasted that this quarter they've enjoyed the fastest year-over-year increase in operating income in more than six years: $29 million...

Though you'll still be able to order the Samsung Galaxy S4 from Sprint online starting Saturday, finding one in stores will be tough.
We just got a note from Sprint saying that though they're still aiming to have the Samsung Galaxy S4 available for sale online and over the phone starting this upcoming Saturday as originally planned, retail and other channels may be a little behind.

The Sony Xperia Z is now in the Android Open Source Project - a perfect place for developers and partners
Open-sourced Android code for the Sony Xperia Z has recently been released on GitHub to enable developers and partners to get knee-deep into the device. Though the promise of vanilla Android is tantalizing, Sony is quick to remind folks that the Android build they're posting isn't meant...

Over the weekend, one Romanian reviewer put the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 through a gauntlet of durability tests. Three different knives, a pen, a set of keys, and a fistful of coins didn't seem able to put the slightest mark on the S4's front face. This is good news for those that are on the verge of picking up one of these bad boys.
The Galaxy S4 is the first handset to use Gorilla...

Canadian carrier Rogers has begun rolling out into the 44 markets they had promised a few weeks ago. Seven new markets go live today, including a few in my hometown of Ottawa.
Ottawa, including Kanata, Nepean, Gloucester, Stittsville and Cumberland
Airdrie, Alberta
Langley, B.C
Keswick; Ontario
Hamilton, including Grimsby in Ontario
Orillia, Ontario
Stratford, Ontario...

Ever wanted to use an Xbox controller for your Android games?
The Moga Pro hits stores today for $49.99, and in addition to playing around a bit with it at PAX East, we got some time to try out with the Bluetooth controller before it arrived at retail. There are a few things you get in the box besides the controller itself: a tiny instruction manual, a micro USB cable, and a foldable tablet...

Alongside the big Facebook Home announcement today was a short and sweet video which ran through what these new Android apps were all about. Sure, the video is mostly about invoking all the feels for social networking, but we do get to see Chat Heads, Cover Feed and notifications in action. It looks like it's working smoothly enough, anyway.
Expect Facebook Home to be landing April 12, alongside...

The live stream for the Facebook Home event has wrapped up, but the replay is available for those of you that want to really know the ins and outs, but missed the show the first time around. The short version is, Facebook is making a launcher that has a bunch of in-depth customizations for notifications, news feed, and chat. It's not a whole new operating system, but it does promise to be a...

Relax, they aren't forking Android
Today Facebook announced a whole suite of new social apps for Android that will help with staying up to date with status updates, messaging, and everything else Facebook has to offer. Don't worry, Home isn't a new operating system, or their own phone. Everything will be downloadable from Google Play. New updates with fresh features will come every month. It...

Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by the Android Open Source Project
and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution License. AndroidCentral is an independent site
that is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.